Enhancement of Simvastatin Dissolution Rate by Sono-Precipitation: A Submicron Particle Approach
Maruti Srinivasa Swamy T, Yamsani Shravan Kumar, Athukuri Bhargavilatha, Sunchu HarikaIntroduction:
Co-solvency, complexation, hydrotropy, chemical modification, size reduction, and alteration of crystal structure are processes that can increase solubility. Reducing the particle size to the submicron range in the current study boosted solubility. Simvastatin's low water solubility and substantial hepatic and intestinal cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A-mediated metabolism result in poor oral bioavailability (5 %). Various solvent-antisolvent pairings were selected based on Simvastatin's solubility.
Methodology:
To eliminate potential contaminants, unprocessed simvastatin was dissolved in a solvent and then filtered through a Whatman filter. After that, the solution was placed in an antisolvent in a sonoreactor and simultaneously exposed to different ultrasonic voltage amplitudes for 5 min. After filtering, the particles were dried for 12 hr at 50 ºC.
Results:
Compared with the commercially available Simvotin®, the improved formulation F2 exhibited a particle size of 874 nm and an in vitro dissolution rate 6.6 times higher. FTIR indicates that the drug and excipients do not interact. The physical change, such as a change in crystal structure, was not detected by XRD.
Discussion:
Discussion: The sono-precipitation process, which creates direct submicron particles, decreased the size of simvastatin. Since direct submicron particles do not require any nanocarriers, they are inexpensive and easy to make.
Conclusion:
Simvastatin dissolves only slightly in water. The sono-precipitation process, which creates direct submicron particles, decreased the size of simvastatin. Since direct nanoparticles do not require carriers, they are inexpensive and easy to make.